In Canada, they call Marie-Philip Poulin the Sidney Crosby of women’s hockey. Poulin, a freshman forward from Beauceville, Quebec, has lived up to every expectation that comparison carries in her five games with the No. 6 Boston University women’s ice hockey team.
Poulin scored four goals on Friday night and notched two assists on Saturday to help the Terriers sweep the weekend series against Wayne State University 7-2 and 4-1 respectively. Her strong skating, skillful puck-handling and scoring touch has helped her make a joke out of the idea of a freshman adjustment. Poulin now leads the team in goals (eight), assists (five) and total points (13) for the season.
“There’s a reason why she has some pretty elite tags in who she is,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “The one thing that without a doubt sticks out is that she sees everything that goes on on the ice.”
On Friday night, Poulin saw something when the Terriers were short-handed 13 minutes into the game. Poulin initially came into the zone on her own and, instead of playing conservatively on the penalty kill, danced around the defense before taking a shot on goal. She re-entered the zone shortly afterward with sophomore forward Jill Cardella on a two-on-one. Cardella passed to Poulin who dragged the puck across the crease, moved to her backhand, and flipped the puck past Wayne State netminder Delayne Brian. The short-handed tally was Poulin’s third of the season, tying her for BU’s single-season record for short-handed goals.
Poulin’s second goal of the night came with 58 seconds left in the first when, while waiting for a rebound on the doorstep, she tipped in graduate student defenseman Catherine Ward’s shot from the blue line.
Poulin completed the hat trick at 15:28 in the second period with BU leading 4-2. Cardella passed through the slot to Poulin, who tossed a one-timer behind Brian while spinning past a defender. Poulin capped off her scoring at 9:39 into the third with a laser from the slot off a tic-tac-toe passing play.
“I was thinking, “Wow, what a great pass that I got,'” Poulin said of her third goal. “It was just a team effort tonight.”
Poulin’s modesty likely fooled no one. Her four goals on Friday night were only part of her magnificent display of hockey. Poulin went 12-5 on faceoffs Friday and 31-9 on faceoffs for the weekend. She was instrumental in helping BU maintain puck possession for much of the game, and while checking is not allowed in women’s hockey, she had a check in the second period better than many checks you would see from a male player.
Poulin is also unselfish with the puck. On Saturday, immediately after junior forward Jenn Wakefield scored to put the Terriers up 2-1 in the second period, Poulin won a faceoff, brought the puck into the offensive zone and found junior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk in the slot. Kohanchuk fired a wrister past Brian for her third goal of the season.
“If you’re on the ice with [Poulin], get your stick on the ice, get ready and you’ll probably see some pucks coming your way,” Durocher said.
This offensive talent from Poulin is no aberration. At only 18 years old, Poulin played on the Canadian Olympic hockey team and scored both goals in Canada’s 2-0 victory over the United States in the gold-medal game of the Vancouver Olympics.
“There’s only a few that really can stick-handle, carry a puck, shoot, skate and see the game,” Durocher said. “She sees it at the highest level. On top of that, she’s very, very strong. In baseball, they call that a five-tool player. She’s a five-tool player.”
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